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Sunday, August 19, 2007

For ye have need of patience, that,after ye have done the will of God,ye might receive the promise.

Hebrew 10:36

I seem to run out of patience a little too easily these days. I remember back to when I was a kid. My mom never yelled. Seriously, I can't recall a time when she raised her voice. She never seemed to "lose it". Of course, my sister and I didn't give her much cause to lose her temper or patience with us. I'm pretty sure we never smeared a tub of butter on the carpeting, buried her car keys in the sandbox, or finger painted with yogurt on the t.v. The past two weeks my children have been acting like little demons and not a day has gone by where I haven't lost my patience and yelled like a lunatic. I think the fine art of patience is disappearing.

In our world of instant gratification where microwave ovens enable us to put food on the table in mere minutes, and stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we don't have to wait for much. When we want something, we no longer weigh the benefits against the cost and save our money until we can make the purchase. Charge cards let us get whatever we want, whenever we want it with little consideration to how we'll pay for it later.

The internet has given us many benefits (for example, we can read my blog :D). Kids no longer have to go to the library and use the card catalog to locate books and gather information for school reports. They can log on, and with a few quick clicks, have a wealth of information pertaining to their subject right at their fingertips. We don't have to wait until a favorite show comes on t.v. With hundreds of channels and innovations like TiVo, we can pretty much view whatever we want at any given time.

We get mad if it takes too long for our nail polish to dry or if the person in front of us at the drive-through places a large order making us wait another whole minute for our food. We get impatient when we're in a hurry and our kids insist we stop and look at every bug, flower, and piece of garbage they see on the sidewalk.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all these conveniences are bad. But, I believe, they do come with a price. I want my children to grow up to be patient individuals. I want them to know what it's like to work hard and save up for a car. I want them to be able to wait and weigh the pros and cons of a decision instead of jumping right in. I think the best way to teach this is to model it myself. Boy, do I have my work cut out for me!

OK enough of that lest I be accused of being :::gasp::: serious!

On a completely unrelated note, this is what I found in the shower this morning.

In case you can't tell - that's a bar of soap with a set of teeth marks in it. Mmmmm, nothing like a little Lever 2000 to start your day. "Lever 2000, for all your 2000 parts, including your stomach, small intestines, colon....."

I found you from your ebay posting, and I must say...you have me laughing so hard. I'm a mom of 5 girls 6 and under, so I can somewhat relate. We are working on #6....Sometimes I think my brain must be just rattling around in there, but my girls really are a blessing...a noisy/argumentive/crazy blessing.

We get all the same comments.

Are they all yours?

Trying for the boy?

Are you done?

You have all girls?

Any twins/triplets? (come on..seriously triplets???)

Do you know what causes that?

Do you own a tv?

Anyway....thanks for the laugh, and feel free to hit me up at my blog. melandhergirls.blogspot.com

Rarely do l ever encounter a blog where the entries have some sort of meaning. lt is great to see such a good blogger on the internet. l have seen thousands, and you truly have a talent with words. Thank you for sharing these experiences with us.

I love your thoughts on patience. I try to gently remind Andrew (6 years old) that not everything can happen instantly. He is the most impatient child I know. He even complains because the computer starts up too slow. Or the internet isn't fast enough.

He complains when I cook, and is asking me every 20 seconds if it is done yet. He would be happy if we always had 3 minute TV dinners. Actually, come to think of it, he's much happier with straight to plate.

Rofl I found your blog from a post made to Cafemom.com lol she posted your Ebay link thank you ..you give me courage rofl I have two kids and one on the way my son is 3 and a half and my daughter is 15 months old and I'm due anyday now :-) we are sooo stoping at 3 rofl....I can't do 6 but I do hold you in high regard as a goddess lol thank you for letting it be known that you do surrvive children..:-)You can reach me at my blog on cafemom.com Willow_Whisp is my SN or if you want to chat my MSN is Bridget_Kitty_McCellan@hotmail.com

Yada, yada, yada. It's the same ol' thing, where I found your blog, your eBay ad, that you had me practically rolling with laughter. So I'll save it.

Your comments on patience are all too true, and very insightful; I don't think I'd really given it a thought beyond the "instant gratification". Unlike some people, I've always been of the impatient sort. Unfortunately. My kids are little heathens.

I experienced the bite marks a few years ago with my oldest. (Now 6.5--note that I add the .5 in the hopes that it will help her age a little faster and as such she'll start listening more. What am I thinking??) Immediately we realized that the ol' "soap in the mouth" bit wasn't going to fly. And it doesn't. Go figure.

(Have you figured out why kids will wake up at the same time every morning no matter at what time they went to bed?? I have three, and I just don't get it.)

Kudos to you for having so many. I use overpopulation as a reason for getting fixed, but I know I couldn't do it. *shudder* You go girl!

Wow! A friend of mine showed me your e-bay listing. You had me laughing so hard, I SOO needed that today. I ventured over here to your blog and alas I was crying. I just read your blog on patience and your right. With everything so handy we don't have to wait, I for one loose my patience to often. Thankfully I realize when I do it and I catch myself. I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one. It's amazing how oen little e-bay listing has turned into you touching so many lives! If no one has told you today...your an amazing woman and an amazing mother! I know that because you'd have to be to keep it all together!

OMG - You sound just like me. I think we are best friends, we just don't know it yet! ROFL

Thanks for the laugh today, and thanks for the 'insights into patience' I needed. I hate losing it with my kids (4 of them) and I learned something in Sunday school that is helping - when I start to lose it, I stop and ask, "Is this the Holy Spirit guiding me?" and then I can calm down. Works. Mostly. LOL

And when people ask ME, "You know what causes that?" I respond with: "Yes, and it is AWESOME at our house, would you like to hear the details?"

Ok, so we know bar soap is not on the "most nutritious list", but what about dog food? My darling little 23 month old has been going around the house the past couple of days munching on kibble. I haven't moved the dogs bowl in the hopes that the sweet child will decide that the dog's food doesn't taste very good. Oh, and I found him last night next to the dog on his hands and knees with his face in the dogs water bowl, getting a little drink, of course. *sigh* The older boys were just watching and laughing--not bothering to stop him!

Great things you say on this Blog! I'm 13 , and honestly , i think your funny as crap! When a 13 year old sais your coo l , it's a good thing....Keep it smartbutt with A.J and your life will be that much easier! Just a tip...And also , He MIGHT give ye patience....He MIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A friend sent me your ebay listing and from there I found your blog, OMgosh you are soo funny. I needed a laugh today. I too have bouts of impatience with my 2 boys who are so full of energy from the minute they open their eyes at 6 am until they close them again (reluctantly at 8:30 p.m.) I can't imagine having 6 little ones, Kuddos to you!

I haven't even read this all- I just saw the picture of the soap and read what you wrote after- You made my day. What an awesome writer you are. I look forward to reading your blog. Your ebay auction is pretty funny, too. I second the idea of writing a book. :)

Okay, 5 kids here, but my husband and I just never decided to quit -- lol. Our oldest is 24, 21, 16, 9, and 7, -- and the number one question I get is: The same man??? Of course, who wants to train another one.

My ususal come backs are "Better than having them empty" to "You must have your hand full!"; and "Yes, there were witnesses" to "Are they all yours?" And the most common is "Never a dull moment!" I have three boys and sometimes an extra from the neighbor. Love and Blessing

You have restored my faith in my parenting skills... I now know that my son is not the only one who pokes holes in the meat, and now leaves teeth marks in the soap... If I didnt think the auction was hilarious I know this blog is just what I needed...Now i am going to make a point of figuring out how to blogroll so that I can direct EVEN MORE people over here...your blog takes the cake and has officially made the top of my Best Blog EVER list.

I'm the same way. My older kids, when they became teens would always start off saying something like "well, so and so has this, because they have parents who will buy it for them, why can't you get this for me"...and I would have to tell them that there were things I would be happy to buy for them, but other things they would have to earn on their own, because if it were just handed to them, they would never truly appreciate what they have...my oldest, who is 22, now understands, but my 20 and 18 year old still wish I was rich and handed everything to them on a silver platter. My younger kids want everything, in a few years I'm sure they'll be saying the same thing!

Hoooray! You just improved my rotten day. Was busy feeling guilty for throwing (gently) a hard cooked egg at my kid this morning in a fit of temporary insanity. We all need a bit more zen, don't we...easier said than done.